Solar Energy Applications in Houses: Performance and Economics in Europe

simulations.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Publisher Summary

This chapter discusses the reason for the need of solar energy in European community (EC) countries. Applications of solar energy to produce heat on a low-temperature level will develop faster than most of the other solar energy conversion methods because of their relatively high conversion efficiencies and of their potential to substitute directly for critical, resource limited energy carriers such as oil and gas, which hither-to were employed to provide low-temperature heat. An analysis of the energy situation in the EC countries shows that there is a strong dependence on imported energy and especially on the imported oil. It is seen that measures to reduce the dependence on oil and to ensure a steady supply of energy at stable and favorable prices are required. Further arguments are made in support of the introduction of solar energy in Europe because of the depletion of fossil fuel resources and to the advantages of small, decentralized energy supply systems.

The use of solar energy in its direct and indirect forms is not new to Europe, where wood, wind, water and the warmth of the sun have been used to provide energy for hundreds of years. However, in recent years there has been an increasing interest in the use of solar energy and projections suggest that it could provide 5% of the energy for the European Community (EC) countries by the year 2000 and more than 10% by 2020 if the necessary technologies are developed without delays. It is expected that applications of solar energy to produce heat on a low-temperature level will develop faster than most of the other solar energy conversion methods because of their relatively high conversion efficiencies and of their potential to substitute directly for critical, resource limited energy carriers such as oil and gas, which hitherto were employed to provide low-temperature heat. Other solar energy conversion methods, with the exception of biomass production, involve higher technology and a longer development effort. If the above projections prove true, we can expect that millions of houses in the EC countries will have some form of solar heating system by the beginning of the next century. Considerable progress in this direction has already been made. Since the first big oil price rise in 1973/74, thousands of domestic solar water heaters and solar-heated swimming pools have been built and hundreds of companies in the EC countries have entered the solar heating market. As we will point out here much industrial research and development of solar hardware has been done, and these efforts have been complemented by various forms of governmental support. Thus solar energy systems are approaching the point of broad market entry, and their potential in Europe can be better assessed. Taking these developments into consideration, this book provides information about the possibilities for solar energy use in dwellings located in the EC countries.

1.1 Outline of the book

Chapter 1 continues with a short description of solar space and water heating systems, their present status and future development possibilities. This is followed by a discussion of the reasons for using solar energy in Europe. An analysis of the energy situation in the EC countries shows that there is a strong dependence on imported energy and, especially, on imported oil. It is seen that measures to reduce the dependence on oil and to ensure a steady supply of energy at stable and favourable prices are required. Further arguments are made in support of the introduction of solar energy in Europe due to the depletion of fossil fuel resources and to the advantages of small, decentralised energy supply systems.

Chapter 2 discusses the features of climate that are relevant to solar house design. The EC countries span a range of latitudes and longitudes and accordingly climate characteristics vary considerably. The energy requirements and the solar system performance in a building depend predominantly on the solar irradiation and the ambient air temperature. The variation of these factors over the year and across European countries is discussed. The observed temperature distribution reflects the combined influence of the large-scale airflow patterns over Europe and the heating effects of the sun. The effects of all the factors (latitude and weather pattern effects) influencing the amount of incoming radiation are discussed and are illustrated in maps and tables. The evaluation of solar energy applications requires radiation data for inclined surfaces and such data are given for cloudless and cloudy days. Brief mention is also made of other climatic factors, such as wind, snow and hail, that affect (solar) house design in general. It will be seen that for an evaluation of the potential of solar energy systems, a balanced assessment of all climatic aspects must be made.

In Chapter 3 the impacts of the different European climates on the thermal design and heating requirements of individual houses are examined. In view of the different characteristics of maritime, continental, alpine and Mediterranean climates it is not surprising that heating requirements differ considerably throughout Europe. The range of values is illustrated by considering reference houses with different insulation levels and that are located in the different climatic regions. The data on reference heating requirements are used further in the chapters on solar system performance and economics. A comparison of the regional heating requirements gives a first impression of the distribution of heating requirements over the year, and the consequences for solar space heating systems performance are mentioned. However, much more detail on this subject is given in Chapter 6.

Since in a solar house the effort and investment are made to collect and store solar heat, it is sensible to ensure that this energy is not subsequently wasted. Solar houses, therefore, require insulation levels that are, for most countries, higher than present standards. It is pointed out that the installation of solar space heating systems should be accompanied in each country by appropriate insulation improvement steps. The discussion shows that, from the economic point of view, measures taken to reduce the heating requirements in a building can be more important prerequisites for solar space heating installations in northerly locations than in Mediterranean sites. Methods to determine the heat losses through windows, exterior walls and the roof that are due to heat transmission and air ventilation are described. In addition measures to reduce these losses are reviewed.

Chapter 4 discusses passive solar energy use for space heating in buildings. The emphasis is on a description of the five passive design approaches: the direct gain approach, the thermal storage wall, greenhouses attached to buildings, the thermal storage roof and the thermo-syphon concept. The dynamic thermal principles according to which the individual designs operate are explained, and it is shown that it is possible through location of the thermal heat storage capacity in the building fabric to adapt the internal heating requirements due to the daily and seasonal temperature variations to the intermittent solar energy irradiation. Experience with passive solar buildings suggests that they operate satisfactorily in a variety of climates. However, it appears that there are limits to the amount of heating that is achieved with the typical passive solar energy collection elements. It is recommended that consideration be given to hybrid systems, which include some active system components such as usual heat stores or fans, to improve heat distribution.

Although performance of passive systems is not yet understood in detail, the presented material gives a quantitative idea of the basic principles. Passive systems are largely design-oriented whereas active systems are designed as marketable, technical products. Consequently, active solar energy systems have received far more attention in industrial research, development and marketing than passive systems have. Therefore, passive solar energy systems in Europe have to be considered as a developing but challenging new field of architecture.

In Chapter 5 a description of the components used in solar space and water heating systems is given. This includes the discussion of the various types of solar energy collectors, thermal heat stores, control elements and heat pumps. The thermal characteristics or efficiencies of conventional heating systems’ components are also considered for their importance to the solar system. The physical principles on which each component operates are discussed to the extent that is needed for an understanding of the component’s role in the total system and of its interaction with the other components. Where required, advice is given regarding measures that prevent corrosion and other damage to solar hardware. Mass production is expected to play a decisive role in making solar energy systems economically viable, therefore examples of mass production as well as the impact on costs are given.

Development efforts during recent years have led to a number of solar system concepts. Chapter 6 deals with the solar systems that have, in most European countries, turned out to be viable. The configuration and the operational aspects of the systems are discussed on the basis of the thermal characteristics of the components described in the preceding chapter. Performance data that were obtained in computer simulations are presented for most of the systems. Performance data of both solar water heating and combined space and water heating systems are given for locations in the different climatic regions of Europe. For domestic water heating a constant daily energy requirement over the year can be assumed. The correlation in time between constant energy requirements for water heating and increasing solar radiation availability the farther south one goes results in increasing substitution of conventional energy by the solar system. Solar space heating performance is determined by the less favourable correlation between radiation availability and space heating requirements that occur only seasonally. The capability of substituting solar energy for conventional fuel is therefore less attractive for space heating than for water heating. Presently available experience with operating systems suggests that in many cases the observed practical performance does not yet reach the theoretically predicted values. The reasons for this are insufficient insulation of storage tanks and hot water piping and unsatisfactory control schemes. It is shown that with appropriate modifications the performance of the solar systems could be improved.

In Chapter 7 a comparative analysis of solar systems in the different climatic and economic environments of EC countries is made. For each of the countries, the performance results of the solar energy reference systems from the preceding chapter are taken as a basis for the economic assessments. The economic evaluations are made by comparing the investment for the solar system with the annually achievable fuel cost saving. Since the amortisation of the investment extends over a long time period and because the fuel cost savings will increase in time, the present-value method is applied. The systems cost data have been determined on a country-by-country basis and represent low- to average-cost systems as offered commercially in mid-1979. These costs could be reduced in the future by mass production or improved installation methods. In addition, conventional fuel prices could increase faster than generally assumed. Therefore a wide range of system costs and fuel price growth rates was examined. The effect of governmental financial support, which was given to buyers of solar systems, on system economics is also evaluated. The analysis shows that the economic prospects of solar energy systems in a country depend at least as strongly on the economic situation, which determines the solar hardware costs, the price level of conventional fuel and the capital interest rates, as on the climatic environment, which determines the amount of substituted conventional